Terry Parker

Terry Griffith Parker, age 79, passed away peacefully while with his family on Thursday, August 4, 2016.

Terry was born July 12, 1937, in Waupun, Wisconsin, to Lieutenant Stuart and Nora (Griffith) Parker. He moved throughout the Midwest while his father served in the U.S.A.F., including during WWII, before settling in Des Plaines, Illinois and graduating from Maine High School in 1955. He attended the University of Illinois from 1955-59, earning a bachelor’s degree in Business. He met Ann Elizabeth Ehrlich at the U of I on a blind date freshman year, and they were married August 22, 1959, in Chicago.

He served in the United States Army Reserves from 1961 to 1967. He went to work for Signode Corporation in 1964 as a salesman, eventually rising to a Vice President position, and then continuing on after Signode’s acquisition by Illinois Tool Works around 1986. He retired in 2000.
Terry and Ann have lived in the Champaign area, the western and southwestern Chicago area, and Waukesha, Wisconsin, before settling in Barrington in 1976. Terry was a member of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. He spent time in the summers at Fisher Lake in Three Rivers, Michigan, and winters in Rio Verdi, Arizona. He enjoyed golfing, sailing, power boating and jet skiing, attending automobile races, reading, going to the movies, and attending all manner of sports, school, art and music events involving his wife, children and grandchildren. Terry will be remembered as a loving and devoted grandfather who never missed a single activity involving his grandkids.

Terry is survived by his loving wife, Ann; children, Joanne (Douglas) Knox of Crystal Lake, Michael (Ellen) Parker of Davenport, IA, and Jim (Lisa) Parker of Green Oaks; his ten grandchildren, Mitchell, Elizabeth, David, Thomas, Daniel, Joseph, Rebecca, Allison, Maria, and Samuel; and his three brothers, Stuart of Tucson, AZ, Michael (Terry) of Plainfield, and Theodore (Dee) of Flint, MI.

Friends are welcome to visit with Terry’s family on Monday, August 8, from 4-8 p.m. at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 647 Dundee Ave., Barrington, IL 60010. The funeral service will be held the following day, Tuesday, August 9, at 11:00 a.m. at the church. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that memorials be made to the Smile Train at www.smiletrain.org, Make a Wish Foundation at www.wish.org, or to JourneyCare Foundation of Barrington, 2050 Claire Ct., Glenview, IL 60025.